Marceline is a pantser who writes dark fantasy stories, but when she hit a writer's block, she couldn't sleep for days and died of a stroke, regretting that she had not lived to see the conclusion of her book. With a twist of fate, this dying wish s...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Under the light of the moon, a young maiden stood in front of a full-length mirror and studied her reflection. She had long, platinum blonde hair that flows past her waist, with a small portion of it styled into curtain bangs that framed her face. She had green eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness like emeralds, and her full lips were set in a fine line. She wore a simple night dress made up of silk with intricate laces, emphasizing her noble and slender figure.
"Ah," she inhaled sharply and coughed, her hand swiftly moved in motion to cover her mouth with a napkin. Her chest tightened upon seeing the red stain imprinted on the white fabric. "My sickness brought nothing but disgrace to the imperial family. I wonder how long it will take for them to dispose of me?"
Her name is Regina Victoria Starling, the crown princess of Kingdom Celestia. Deemed cursed from the moment she was born, she was frail and weak because of her incurable blood disease. Everyone believed that her birth caused the loss of her mother, the late Queen Charlotte. Her resemblance to the former queen was the sole factor that kept her alive, yet it failed to prevent her family from their growing resentment towards her at the same time.
"How long do you plan to reject me, Regina?"
Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when she suddenly heard a sudden, icy whisper that grazed across her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She turned her heels towards the direction of the source.
"Who's there?!"
Terror crawled across her skin and her lips quivered as her voice echoed through the empty chamber.
She was alone.
She faced the mirror again, convincing herself that it must be her eyes playing tricks on her, but stopped midway, her face growing pale at the sight of her reflection.
Someone.
Someone was standing behind her; its features hidden by pure darkness.
Regina's heart raced as she reached out to touch the mirror, hoping to find some kind of explanation, but to her dismay, her fingers met only cold glass. The figure did not have any intention to leave and Regina knew this. Her lips parted open when the figure started to disintegrate into shadows and seemingly to shift and change before her eyes.
Regina didn't know what to make of the sight unfolding in front of her. She knew she must run and save her dear life, but her feet won't listen to her calls. It seemed like she was frozen in place, helpless and waiting to be devoured.
"Why do you appear to be so scared of me, darling?"
The figure slowly emerged from the mirror, its outline becoming more defined. Regina gasped as she saw the person that came out of her mirror - it was wearing her own face, with sharp, dark eyes and proud fangs ready to bite her neck.
Regina screamed and backed away from the mirror, her heart pounding and mind racing with questions and fear. "Don't come any closer!"
But before she could even step back to create distance from the intruder, someone from behind dragged her back into the darkness and her screams were muffled in silence.
